Beach bums in Broome
A lot has happened since we were last on line. The bus trip back from Alice to Darwin was quite pleasant for such a long trip. We slept quite well and the bus stopped frequently so that we could stretch our legs and get food and drinks. During the night there were lots of kangaroos on the road and we had to brake hard a few times but we didn’t hit any. There are however lots of marsupial casualties all over the roads (and the occasional cow) so it is a definite hazard of driving at night when they tend to be active.
We have hired a car in Darwin and are now drving down the west coast to Perth which will take about 4 weeks. We headed first of all for Kakadu National Park which is to the east of Darwin – not on our way at all really but too good to miss. We are now camping rather than using hostels. We haven’t had to put the flysheet on the tent at all yet. Some of the campsites have been very nice with swimming pools etc. Anyway we spent the first night in a place called Jabiru which is really small and hasn’t got a lot to recommend it except that it is near some things that are well worth seeing. One of the main things to see in the area is Aboriginal rock art of which there are many examples. We visited one site where there was a large cave shelter with paintings of kangaroos and other things on the walls. They have been dated back about 20,000 years. There were also lots of other paintings in the same area, many of them showing characters in the Aboriginal stories of the creation of the landscape and animals etc. They are very striking and use 3 colours, red, white and yellow. We also did a short walk to a large billabong where there were lots of birds but you have to be careful of crocodiles and not go near the water. It was only a short drive then to Cooinda where we had a really good campsite with 2 swimming pools. We lazed away the afternoon wondering what you were all up to at home!
The next day we were up early for a boat trip on the nearby wetlands where there are thousands of birds and lots of crocodiles. We set off from the jetty and the guide announced that he was really excited because he had just spotted 2 seagulls. I began to have misgivings at this point thinking “I’ve paid $50 for this!” However, it was a language barrier problem again and it was actually two sea eagles which were a lot more impressive. In fact we saw 3 altogether and a huge nest. Amongst the other birds we saw were jabirus (black necked storks), Australian pelicans, 4 types of egret, wandering ducks, a kingfisher, red-necked darters, herons, jacarandas, ibis and lots of others. And loads of crocodiles, the salt water ones that attack people amongst other things. One jumped out of the water near the boat. Even without the wildlife the scenery was stunning. We saw a jabiru’s nest which made the eagle’s nest look tiny.
The next day we went on a 4WD trip to see Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls. This was quite exciting as we had to drive throuogh a deep creek with the water nearly up to the windows of the vehicle. The falls were not really very spectacular because we are right at the end of the dry season. Twin Falls was at least running a bit. You have to go up a narrow gorge in a boat to get there. The sandstone cliffs are about 200m high on either side. Then you walk up the falls which drop into a large pool. There is a sandy beach there but you can’t swim because of the crocs. Jim jim Falls was ahrdly running at all – just a trickle but the best bit is that you can swim there – very refreshing after clambering in ver large boulders in the heat. We swam across to the other side of the pool (about 100m) and spent some time jumping in off the cliffs. There were some cane toads there which apparently can survive the drop from the top of the falls (about 200m) and just swim away.
After we got back to Cooinda we drove on to Pine Creek arriving at about 7pm. There we went out for dinner as we didn’t have any food left and had barramundi and chips which was really tasty. Everybody in the area fishes for barramundi and it is one of the things you have to try.
Since then we have been driving and drving and driving. With the odd bit of exploration thrown in. But you don’t realise how big Australia is until you start to drive across it. Hundreds of km between anything that resembles civilisation and then you just find a roadhouse with a caravan park attached. The roads are dead straight and seem to go on forever. We come over the crest of a hill and the road just goes on into the distance. And very little traffic so the highlight of the day is when a car comes the other way or we have to go round a bend! But in some ways it quite enjoyable just seeing the immense size of the place and although it is very hot the car has air conditioning so it isn’t too bad.
And the reward was getting to Broome which has a 22km beach and a beautiful turquoise sea which is lovely and warm and has huge waves. So we have been for a long walk along the beach today and had a swim. We saw a lovely sunset on the beach last night and tonight we are going to the open air cinema. And then on to Port Headland tomorrw – another 600km away – en route for the Karijina National Park.
kt_m_white
October 5th, 2007 at 7:35 am
Thank you, you two girls are taking the time to see oz.nrEnjoy your time here.nr